A Look Into The Crystal Ball: Top Trends For 2013

December 24th, 2012

We're always tracking trends, specifically how Millennials are influencing and shaping culture. They’ll be leading the way with major media shifts in 2013, stemming from their desire to make the world simply more intuitive. The following are five flavors of innovation we expect to see in 2013:

1. Dominance Of The Second Screen

Millennials already move between multiple devices when they watch television as they seek to always be entertained and of course, in communication with their friends. However, the second screen will play an even bigger role in 2013 as social TV becomes increasingly important to engage young viewers and cater to their short attention spans.

This year, we saw some major moves in the social TV space with Zeebox launching in the U.S., which allows users to see what shows are on, what their friends and celebrities are watching, and buy products they see on screen. Bravo also launched Play Live this year, a social TV experience where users get to interact with their favorite shows and ads by responding to on-air polls in real-time and see the results on their TV screen. Both of these, in addition to several other tools, have paved the way for the growth of the second screen. We predict that the event of watching, checking into, and interacting with a show will become the norm for Millennials next year, even more so than it is already, as their favorite shows air.

While live TV has some competition in the digital age, we’ll see a big push on the part of networks and tech companies in the coming year to connect the second screen with the first screen, creating active viewers and constant chatter.

Moreover, this year, we saw strategies such as Tumblr creating live-GIFs of the presidential debates. We wouldn’t be surprised if this is done for other…

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Millennial News Feed

Quote of the Day: “YouTube is an ocean of entertainment. No other app can provide as much entertainment as YouTube.” –Male, 18, NY

As Millennials’ spending power begins to outpace Boomers’, what are they buying more than any other generation? The answers might surprise you. A list of ten things that young consumers are buying more often include gas station food and snakes (?!). But the rest of the list is less shocking: they’re also buying more craft beer, piercings and tattoos, same day delivery, and, of course, hot sauce. (Time)

Facebook has been upping their video game as the online content wars have heated up, and it seems to be paying off. The social network’s recent earnings report shows a significant increase, brought on by their video growth. The report says that “billions” of videos are watched on the platform each day, and that 75% of those are on mobile. Facebook Pages (for celebrities, businesses, etc.) have reportedly been sharing 40% more video since the beginning of this year alone. (Streamdaily)

In a recent New YorkTimesarticle examining campus suicide, Cornell’s director of counseling cited the pressure to look perfect on social media as an amplifier of the problem, “since students feel compelled to post smiling selfies even when they’re struggling." One female student tells New York Magazine, “When I posted [this photo], I subconsciously hoped that if I could convince others I was happy, then maybe I could believe it myself.” (NYMag)

We know Millennial men want to be hands-on dads, but some might be finding fatherhood a more difficult balance than they had planned. Researchers say that their struggles could be because workplace policies have “not caught up to changing expectations at home,” and Millennials’ more egalitarian views on parenthood. One survey found that 24% of Millennial men who had not had children expected to shoulder most of the child care responsibilities, while only 8% of those with children actually did. (NYTimes)

Though young consumers are certainly shopping from their phones, our list of their top ten favorite apps did not include any from the retail category—hinting at an opportunity for retailers to step up their mobile game. Online-only store Everlane has created an app to “cater to their biggest fans” with suggestions on what to wear based on the daily weather, and early exclusive access to items on the app only. (TechCrunch)

Quote of the Day: “Pandora is my favorite app because I LOVE music and creating stations that introduce me to new songs I didn't know about.” –Female, 31, GA

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